LONDON – The fireball lighting up the skies over Great Britain and Northern Europe on February 28, 2021 is of a type meteorit which is very rare. Space rock fragments found at the entryway in the Cotswolds could provide answers to questions about the early history of the solar system and life on Earth.
Quoted from CNN The meteorite collected from the small town of Gloucestershire on Winchcombe by scientists is up to 300 grams (10.6 ounces). These rocks, which are formed from carbonated chondrites, are among the most primitive and pure materials in the solar system and are known to contain organic matter and amino acids – the ingredients for life. (Read: Generate Super Sonic Sound, Fireball Falls in Southern England)
The Natural History Museum in London says the shards were taken in excellent condition shortly when they fell to Earth. “I was shocked when I saw it and immediately knew it was meteorit rare and truly unique events, “said Richard Greenwood, a planetary science researcher at the Open University.
Greenwood said he was in disbelief because he was the first to find the rocks shortly after reaching the ground.
There are about 65,000 known meteorites heading towards Earth. However, only 1,206 meteors have fallen to Earth. Of the number of meteorites that fell to Earth, only 51 were carbonaceous chondrites. (Also read: US Space Force Launches First Rocket to Study the Ionosphere)
The fireball was seen by thousands of eyewitnesses across Britain and Northern Europe and was caught by home surveillance and other cameras when it fell to Earth at 9:54 p.m. GMT on February 28.
The original space rock moved at a speed of nearly 14 kilometers per second before crashing into Earth’s atmosphere and finally landing on the driveway at Winchcombe. Other meteorite fragments have been found in the local area.
Fireball footage taken by the public and the British Fireball Alliance camera network helped locate meteorit it and determine exactly where it came from in the solar system.
“Nearly all meteorites come from asteroids, the remains of the material that make up the solar system that can tell us how planets like Earth formed. The opportunity to be one of the first to see and study a meteorite found is a dream come true,” said researcher Ashley King. English.
Meteorites are much older than any rock on Earth. They usually travel for thousands of years through space before coming to Earth. (Also read: Seconds of Giant Iceberg A74 Separating From Antarctica)
The space rock, the museum says, is similar to a sample recently returned to Earth from space by Japan’s Hayabusa2 mission, which returned about 5.4 grams of fragments from the asteroid Ryugu.
(es)
– .
